Braised Rabbit Paws With Radiatore Food

BRAISED RABBIT WITH FRESH PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 F. Season rabbit with salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium heat, add oil followed by rabbit (everything but the wings) and sear until golden brown, 15 minutes. Delicately remove the rabbit when golden brown and set aside to rest.
• To the pan, add onion, celery and carrots and cook 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, sage and rosemary and cook 5 minutes. Continue by adding tomatoes, vinegar, and verjus and cook 5 more minutes. Add rabbit wings and dashi and bring to a boil. Add remaining rabbit and season with salt. Cover with parchment paper (cartouche) and place in the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Pull some rabbit meat off the bone along with braising liquid and place in a saucepan.
• Add 1 cup cooked pasta and toss with rabbit, parsley, Parmesan and butter. Gently cook pasta until glazed with sauce and appears sheen. Serve with additional rabbit and Parmesan shavings.

SOUTHWESTERN BRAISED RABBIT WITH BLACK BEANS AND FRIED POLENTA

Steps:

• For the black beans: Sauté the onions in some bacon fat or oil in a large pot over medium to medium-high heat until dark golden brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the chili powder and paprika, then add the beans and cover with fresh water by 2 inches. Bring to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the braised rabbit: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Sauté the onions in some bacon fat or oil in a large pot over medium to medium-high heat until dark golden brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, chili powder, tandoori spice, Cajun spice, peppers, celery and jalapeños and sauté until the spices start to stick, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the beer and reduce. Add the rabbit and brown very slightly. Cover with water and add the brown sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the rabbit is just tender, about 1 hour.
• For the polenta: Add the butter to a saucepan and heat until hot. Add the onions, peppers, garlic and chili powder and sauté until the vegetables are soft. Add the chicken stock, bring to boil, reduce to a simmer and slowly whisk in the polenta. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes, adding more stock as necessary to get a fairly thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into a shallow pan and let set to cut later for frying.
• When ready to fry, cut into pieces and fry in clarified butter until golden brown.

BRAISED RABBIT WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
• In a deep baking dish, layer the tomatoes, carrots, celery and onion. Distribute the bunch of thyme throughout the vegetables.
• Heat grapeseed oil in a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Season the raw rabbit with salt and pepper and then lightly dust with flour; sear on each side for 1 minute. Remove the rabbit from the heat and deglaze pan with the white wine.
• Place the rabbit on top of the vegetables, and pour the deglazing liquid over the top. Place the baking dish in the oven for 1 hour.
• Serve rabbit over the vegetables.

ITALIAN-STYLE BRAISED RABBIT WITH ROSEMARY AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Cut the rabbit into 9 pieces (or ask your butcher to) as follows: with a sharp cleaver, cut the saddle (center portion) into 3 pieces, leaving the kidneys attached. Cut the front portion (front legs) in half through the backbone. Chop each hind leg into 2 pieces. Reserve the liver and heart to sauté as a snack.
• Heat .25 inch of olive oil in a Dutch oven or deep, wide heavy skillet over medium heat. Season the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper, then dust lightly with flour. Lightly brown the rabbit for about 3 minutes on both sides, working in batches. Drain on kitchen towels, then transfer to a baking dish in one layer. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Pour off the used oil, wipe out the pan and add 2 tablespoons fresh oil. Heat to medium-high, add the onions and cook till soft, about 5 minutes. Add the leek, garlic, rosemary and mushrooms. Season generously with salt and pepper, and add red pepper flakes to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more, stirring.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and wine, and let the mixture reduce for 1 minute. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, taste and adjust seasonings.
• Ladle the mixture evenly over the rabbit. Cover the dish, and bake for 1 hour. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

BRAISED RABBIT PAPPARDELLE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pan. When hot, add the rabbit, brown on all sides, then remove from the pan and set aside.
• Add the bacon, onion and carrot to the pan and cook for 10 mins until soft. Add the garlic, rosemary and tomato purée, stir for 1-2 mins, then pour in the wine and chicken stock.
• Return the rabbit to the pan, season, cover with a lid and cook over a low heat for 1 hr until the rabbit is really tender.
• Remove the rabbit from the pan and shred the meat using 2 forks. Be careful to remove all small bones. Meanwhile, increase the heat under the pan and boil the liquid for 5 mins until reduced by half. Add the shredded meat and reduce the heat to low. Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water following pack instructions. Drain, reserving a little pasta water to thin the sauce if necessary.
• Stir half the orange zest, mustard, cream and parsley into the rabbit sauce. Add the cooked pasta to the pan, toss everything well to coat and heat through for 1-2 mins. Serve in bowls with grated Parmesan, parsley leaves and the remaining orange zest.

BRAISED RABBIT

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook rabbit in oil until lightly browned; remove and keep warm. In the same skillet, saute onion until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the broth, thyme, pepper and bay leaf. , Return rabbit to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until meat is tender and a thermometer reads 160°., Remove rabbit to a serving platter. Discard bay leaf. Combine the flour, lemon juice and water until smooth; stir into pan juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with rabbit.

BEST BRAISED RABBIT

Steps:

• Heat the roaster or casserole over moderate heat and cook the bacon, stirring and turning it frequently, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Set the pan with bacon fat aside for a few moments.
• Cut the rabbit into serving pieces. Cut away and discard the belly meat.
• Add the salt, pepper, and flour to a brown paper bag. Add a few rabbit pieces to the bag and shake to coat with flour mixture; repeat with remaining rabbit pieces.
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Heat the reserved bacon fat in the pan over high heat until it sputters.
• Brown the rabbit pieces on all sides, in batches; this should take about 10 minutes. Transfer them to a serving plate.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoon of fat and cook the onions in it until they are soft and translucent. Pour in the vinegar and chicken stock and add the bay leaf. Bring to a boil over high heat, scraping up any browned bits clinging to the bottom and sides of the pan.
• Return the rabbit with juices to the roaster or casserole. Add the drained bacon. Cover the vessel tightly, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, or until the rabbits are tender but not falling apart.
• Serve the rabbit directly from the roaster or casserole, or arrange the pieces attractively on a heated platter.

SKILLET-ROASTED RABBIT WITH PANCETTA-BASTED FINGERLINGS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• In an ovenproof sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, cut-side down, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they begin to brown. Add the pancetta, rosemary, and garlic and toss to combine. Place the pan in the oven and roast until the potatoes are tender and the pancetta is crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven, discard the rosemary, and place the potatoes, garlic, and pancetta on paper towels to drain the excess fat. Reserve.
• To prepare the rabbits, using a sharp knife, begin by removing the front legs at the joint and set aside. Next, slice off the loins, or the strips of meat that run along the backbone of each rabbit. Slice each loin into rough 1-inch chunks and reserve. Finally, debone the back legs, cutting the meat off the bone in pieces about the same size as the loin slices. Keep the leg meat separate from the pieces of loin. Season all the rabbit pieces with salt and pepper.
• In a cast-iron skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the front legs and back leg pieces and brown very well, turning frequently, 4 to 5 minutes. When the rabbit legs are mahogany, add the loin pieces and sear on both sides. Remove immediately and place on the plate with the potatoes, allowing the residual heat to finish cooking the meat. When ready to serve, return the rabbit meat to the skillet along with the potatoes, pancetta, and garlic. Cook until the potatoes are heated through. Add the parsley, toss, and serve from the pan.

BRAISED RABBIT PAWS WITH RADIATORE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy ovenproof pot over high heat. Season the rabbit legs with the salt and pepper and place in the Dutch oven. Brown well on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes each side, and then transfer to a plate. Pour off any excess oil but leave any fond, or the browned bits, stuck to the bottom.
• Put the carrots, onion, and garlic in the same pot and sauté over high heat, scraping the bottom. Cook the vegetables until they soften and get a little color, 2 to 3 minutes. Return the rabbit legs to the pot, along with any accumulated liquid from the plate. Add the wine and stock. The liquid should come about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the legs. Add the bay leaves and thyme and bring to a boil. Cover the Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid or foil and place in the oven. Braise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the rabbit pieces are tender.
• Transfer the rabbit pieces to a plate to cool and remove and discard the herbs. Put the liquid and vegetables through a food mill fitted with the medium disk. Put this sauce in a large saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
• When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones and chop the meat finely with a chef's knife. Add the meat to the sauce and stir to combine. Heat on medium-low to blend the flavors and add body.
• Just before serving, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the radiatore and cook according to the package directions until al dente. While the pasta cooks, slice the sage leaves into thin strips. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce in the saucepan, along with the sage. Stir to combine.
• Divide the pasta among 4 bowls, drizzling each with a little extra-virgin olive oil. Pass the cheese at the table.